sundays with the family

We try to get together at Dalton's grandma Beverly's and pa's house with all the cousins and aunts and uncles every Sunday! 

This past Sunday pa and Dalton played a little baseball...he is currently throwing with his left and batting with his right!  And surprise surprise he isn't taking much direction from anyone!

 Swing batter!

 

Too tired must sit down to pitch the ball...

Mommy finally caught the ball on the camera...

Dalton taking the youngest cousin on a stroll in her new red wagon!  Of course he likes to pull much more than he likes to ride:)

Dalton passing the torch...aka passing on the bubble mower!  He still mows with it every single day but this cousin is finally up and walking and able to push it too!  He thought it was a good idea to let her do a little mowing too!

stuff that has been keeping us busy lately

For many many years Dalton's Grandma Beverly has kept many different kinds of bird feeders in her backyard and attracted many many different kinds of birds.  Last year we started feeding our birds...once we got some trees!  We live in a neighborhood that is only about 6 years old so there are very few trees...but as most of you know last year we decided to finally get some for our enormous backyard...stay tuned for phase two of our backyard renovation!  Anyhow...we just bought the cheap stuff last year and didn't get very many cool birds...this year I upgraded and am mixing the good stuff with the cheap stuff and we seem to be getting a better variety of birds at the feeders!  Dalton loves to help fill the feeders and of course scare the birds away when they are out there when he is outside!  He also wants all the bugs to go away...I have been trying to explain to him that the outside is their home and that they aren't going anywhere and better to have them outside than inside! 

Dalton's john deere tractor trailer came in handy to haul the bird seed to the backyard...he was very happy to help out and mommy was happy not to have to carry the kind of heavy bags of bird seed!

I think I mentioned we had been getting lots of new birds but did I mention that we found a squirrel one morning?!?!!?  Totally caught me off guard...I have NEVER SEEN one in our neighborhood!   We have lots of rabbits but never have I seen a squirrel...Dalton thought that was pretty funny!  I told you we put out the good stuff this year...apparently word travels fast in the animal kingdom!

The big escape...we haven't seen him since:(

Just hanging out on the pergola!

We have also been feeding the ducks...luckily they just eat stale bread!  We have a pond not to far from our house and Dalton and mommy used to make a trip there at least once a week to feed the ducks and geese...not anymore!  They come to our culdesac...last spring one of our neighbors fed them really well...they wouldn't even look at us!  Well those folks don't live there anymore but those same ducks came back this spring looking for them...now the rest of us get to feed them!  These are the same ducks that we found floating/swimming in our front flower bed after lots and lots of rain a couple of weeks ago!  This mommy was sad I didn't have my camera handy that day...Dalton said "mommy there not supposed to be in there!"  He knows that he is not supposed to be in there so I guess he just assumed that they weren't either!  Mommy just wished that we didn't have that much standing water.

They come right up to us...one of our neighbors said they came pecking on her front door! 

And of course the scooter...one of the older neighbor boys has a gas powered scooter and he also does lots of tricks (that is what Dalton calls them) on his skateboard and Dalton has become quite the fan/stalker!  So when we went to Target to spend some of his birthday money...thank you Salisbury Family and Great Grandma Dorothy he saw this red scooter and had to have it!  He kept telling me that it was going to be REALLY REALLY loud!  He just knew it would be just like our neighbors...luckily he wasn't disappointed when it wasn't!  He still likes to make the sounds though and he is getting much better on it and not too many wrecks yet!

Scooting along with a silly grin on his face!

Come rain or shine the mowing must go on...or at least the pretending to mow must go on!  It rained off and on for most of the afternoon today and as long as there isn't lightning or thunder and Dalton wants to stay out we do...or he does.  Mommy was in the garage watching...I don't have a cool buzz lightyear rain jacket to keep me dry like Dalton does! 

At first it was just sprinkles and then...

the downpour came and he was ready to go in and take a break!  Look at that face...funny!

I think he got a little bit more wet than he anticipated...

GoOd TiMeS!

one zoorific day

I think it is safe to say that everyday one of the very first things out of his little mouth is..."where are we going today?"  Well yesterday that answer was the zoo!  Spring has sprung around here and we are trying to take advantage of the weather and our zoo pass before the Oklahoma extreme summer heat gets here!  We kind of got a late start for us...we got there around 11:30am and believe it or not we got home around 4:30pm.  I think it's safe to say that is the longest we have ever spent at the zoo but we saw lots of stuff and my camera gave out on me before I could get all the pics that I wanted.  But I do have some pics and a few short stories to share from our fun day at the zoo just Dalton and his mommy:)  However, Dalton was quite the little socializer and made lots of friends while we were there...he will say "Hi my name is Dalton"!  So stinkin' cute!

One of the main reasons we went to the zoo was to see the new female giraffe that was born back in January.  On the way we ran into a few other animals....

Our first stop...the rhinoceros!

The ostrich thought Dalton was a snack...he kept biting at the fence!  Dalton thought it was pretty funny...mommy was glad he was in his stroller...that obviously barely fits him anymore:(  He was in the stroller because we hadn't been there but about 10 minutes before he fell and busted up his knee and his forearm again....he got his knees REALLY BAD the last zoo visit!  TOO MANY BUMPS at he zoo!

The baby giraffe...Dalton kept asking where the baby was!  I had to keep explaining that it was the one that was smaller than the rest...but it's still REALLY BIG...not the baby giraffe he had in his head I guess!  Still pretty darn cute:)

Another reason for the visit the NEW children's zoo...well not really new to us we have been once before!  And I must say I was happier with the exhibit this time around...I am assuming that the zoo got a few complaints about the kids not being able to see into the animals...check out the pictures below!

Must be rough being a goat at the OKC Children's ZOO!

Dalton couldn't wait to get in to pet the goats...that even talked to him a little bit!  It is surprising how they sit so still and let you pet them!

The new and improved children's zoo...they took some of the panels off and covered them with chicken wire or something so that the kids could see the animals without being lifted up...it is a children's zoo after all!

You can see here where they removed the panels...so glad the zoo listened to their zoo friends and made the improvement!

More Children's Zoo fun...the water falls, park!  He couldn't get his socks and shoes off quick enough to get in that water...he didn't even want to stop and look at the monkeys!  Bless his heart he fell in the waterfall area and got his bottom a bit wet...lucky for Dalton mommy doesn't leave the house without one or two extra outfits:)

The boy loves all sources of water...water hoses, drinking fountains (we had to stop at every one we saw), sippy cups with water, water bottles, spray bottles with water...the list goes on and on!  So it doesn't surprise me that this is one of his favorite places to go to at the ZOO!

Another favorite spot...he asked if I thought it was still locked up!  He checked it out from every angle...and he saw some zoo workers and asked if they were there to fix the safari truck!  He still wants one for Christmas...my little safari ranger!  Speaking of Safari...there is a really cute book that Dalton loves to have read to him...Starry Safari!

Not too bad for $1 a little sand art at the children's zoo...he picked a panda and we filled it up!  It became his source for super hero powers and it also went to MDO with him the next day to show his friends and teachers!  He loves to share all of his adventures with his teachers!

Some sliding fun...mommy and Dalton had a couple of races down the slides and of course Dalton always won!

The last time we came to the zoo Dalton watched his 6 year old cousin climb up this rope ladder but didn't want to try this time he wanted to try!  And with the help of his super hero power sand art necklace he tried and tried...mommy is usually a good sport but I ReAlLy ReAlLy didn't want to climb up the rope ladder!  It was mommy and Dalton's lucky day!

He tried and tried...

and tried some more!

 And then these brothers eleven and thirteen appeared out of nowhere...they were so nice and helped him up both sets of rope ladders and walked across the rope bridge with him!  Dalton thought he was SOOOOO cool hanging out with the big boys!  And of course he talked their ears off the whole time telling them all about the Sesame Street episode called Little Big Bird that he watched before we came to the zoo!  The boys and their family were really really nice:)

Dalton and mommy just took our time and ate lunch, visited every play area, rode the carousel, jumped in the jumpy house, rode the kiddie train and mastered the chain link ladder at one of the other playgrounds...he was determined to do that while we were there!  We saw tigers, fed the ducks and of course visited our friends the monkeys...we love love love the zoo!  And when we got home I was SOOOOO tired and Dalton was ready to put on his safety helmet and ride on his scooter so that's what he did and mommy pulled up a chair and logged on to facebook to tell all of her facebook friends about her zoorific day with her big boy!

new faux painting technique...ha ha

After two days of constant rain the sun returned today...YEAH!  However it left a VERY MUDDY MESSY backyard A.K.A heaven for Dalton...he discovered a new activity!  I had stepped in to get dinner started...I can still see and hear him from my kitchen sink and when I look up I see Dalton at the fence.  He had the water hose on earlier spraying the fence...pretending to be a firefighter putting out fence fires.  I take a closer look and see that he has a shovel, paint brush or something in his hand so I step outside to get a closer look and see that he is painting the fence with mud...red clay!  And he is SO SERIOUS and paying such attention to detail he didn't really even notice or mind me taking pictures!

At first glance...no big deal!

Really?!?! He is loading up the fence with red clay using his shovel and making sure to smooth it all out just right!

Check out that expression on his face...pure concentration!

My BiG mUdDy MeSsY bOy! 

i would like to just relax

Today a funny thing happend...I asked my hubby Dalton's daddy what he had to get done today or something like that and he replied I would just like to relax!  And the even funnier thing was that the thought of relaxing being an option had never crossed my mind.  It was just funny becuase I am not sure that either one of us has really ever just realaxed since Dalton was born.  And unfortunately today was definitely not a relaxing day for any of us...it was a fun day for mommy and Dalton but definitely not relaxing.  And daddy spent his morning mowing with Dalton supervising, the afternoon doing his laundry and the evening playing outside with Dalton...I don't know if he would call that relaxing or not:)

Well, mommy started the day off with a sweet little voice in her ear saying is it time to get up yet and lucky for both of us the sun was up 7:15am!  Now the night leading up to this morning not so fun...as a reward for filling his potty chart he got to have a slumber party with mommy!  Dalton has always slept in his own bed since the day we brought him home from the hospital I just never wanted to start something that I may have to call the Super Nanny Jo Frost in to get my bed back...I guess I saw too many horror stories about co-sleeping before Dalton was born.  Not judging if it works for you and your family great it just doesn't work for this momma who needs her sleep and doesn't need a foot in my back every hour or so at night!  The exceptions are if he's sick or we are out of town and now as a reward.  Bless his heart he gets so excited and tells everyone in town about it...his MDO teachers, our teenage neighbors, strangers on the street...and who knows who else!  I am trying to find ways to reward him that don't cost cash...so this is one of them!  But that kid is restless...he just turns and turns and turns some more until he is upside down in the bed and I am constantly putting him back on his pillow...silly kid...tired momma!

After rising and shining and finding out that relaxing is on daddy's list of things to do today...I politely ask him if he thinks it would be a good idea to mow and he politely agrees to do so!  And Dalton gets so excited about it still...I think this is the third summer in a row that watching daddy mow is on the top of his list of favorite things to do.  Last summer daddy had to take the mower into the lawn mower repair shop to fix a wheel and for the last month or so Dalton has been loading up his push mower into the trailer of his John Deere tractor and pretending to take it to the repair shop to get fixed...he has a great memory and a very active imagination...he has also been finding lots of baby bears (imaginary of course) around the neighborhood and his BIG brother has been around quite a bit lately and even got introduced to his mdo teachers at school!  They are quite sweet to go along with our VERY active imagination! 

Dalton and daddy racing...not really a fair race since daddy has a push mower and Dalton has a riding one...hopefully one day daddy will have a john deere riding lawn mower too!

That mowing and racing is hard work...this yard boy needed a popsicle!

After our gourmet grilled cheese lunch mommy and Dalton headed to the Edmond Book Festival!  It had local authors, etc. and a college friend of mine Jennifer Griffin Johnston who has recently published a book titled The Feeling Bag happend to be one of them!  Another one of her girlfriends Stefne Miller was there with her recently published book titled Salvaged too!  And one of our favorite local childrens authors Tammi Sauer! 
http://www.thefeelingbag.com/
http://www.stefnemiller.com/
http://www.tammisauer.com/

My friend and local author...it's really a great book and bag!  Teaching kids and adults how to deal with their emotions in a positive way:)  LOVE  LOVE  LOVE IT!

Dalton with his "feeling bag"!  He loves it and yes it is cotton candy pink and yes he was asked on more than one occasion if that was the color that he wanted and he chose pink everytime!  Pink is the new blue right!?!?!?  Just kidding whatever helps him and his mini tantrums not become BIG tantrums is great with this mommy!  And he has his Buzz Lightyear jammies and the grey socks pulled up to his knees are his silver space boots...just in case you were wondering!

Jennifer & Stefne at their booths at the Edmond Book Festival!  I have already read 4 chapters of Salvaged and can't wait to read some more...it is really a good read!

Tammi was kind enough to sign Dalton's new book Chicken Dance and let us take her picture...he has Cowboy Camp already and it's signed too!  She has another one coming out in August about Monsters and we can't wait to read all about it! 

Dalton sat in for a storytime with a local newsanchor and then we headed to Under the Sun to let Dalton pick out some plants to be in charge of and so mommy could get her spring planting fix...I am having withdrawls.  We are having our front and back yards professionally (FINALLY...mommy has tried several times on her own to no avail) but we aren't on their calendar until mid-May...UGH!  We should be getting a sketch of what's to come sometime next week.  I hope I can wait that long...I must be strong and not purchase any flowers or plants:)  We headed home to get some planting done and mommy and Dalton's idea of planting were apparently two different things! 


What mommy had planned...I think he put one scoop of potting soil into each pot...I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm!

Dalton's version of planting...dragging the hose out and putting as much water as he can into the pots until they overflow and then maybe a little more and then scoop out what I can and play in the potting soil with my hot wheels!

Messy messy fingers...but we were having fun and then we heard the ice cream truck...not a lot of time to get cleaned up!

And while in the backyard we hear a famous tune coming from one of  Dalton's favorite motor vehicles...the ice cream truck...well it's actually a really beat up van with a somewhat scarey driver but the ice cream is pre-packaged so we should be okay...right!?!?!?  Dalton usually gets the ice cream sandwich but today he tries the birthday ice cream sandwich instead it was YUMMY...of course I took a bite when he wasn't looking! 

It's not everyday that two of Dalton's favorite trucks are in his street at the same time...cool huh!?!?!?

 

Dalton liked his new ice cream treat...

Taking a break in the shade...look at those still very messy fingers...told you we were in a hurry!  It would have been a sad sad day if we had missed the ice cream truck!

After a short ice cream break Dalton was back scooting on his scooter, driving his tractor, loading up sand, feeding his farm animals all while mommy was able to sit in a chair and read some of her new book she got at the book festival earlier in the day...is mommy actually relaxing!?!?  Well, I guess I was and before I knew it dinner time was here and daddy was so kind to suggest McDonald's...YIPPEE!  No cooking No dishes No problem except that it's not the healthiest of choices but we ate it anyway and I wonder why I am the shape that I am!?!?!? 

We also got to watch Dalton's youngest cousin for a short time this evening.  They are fun to watch together because she wants to touch everything that Dalton does and at first he's pretty good about sharing his stuff and then he starts getting a little frustrated and she is just as happy as can be and doesn't really even notice that he is being grumpy!  It is sweet to watch him interact with her even if he's being grumpy...tonight he was wanting her to check out his tatoos.  I am sure that was on her list of things to do as a one year old...check out her three year old cousins tatoos he got at the book festival!  And he also told her all about his "Feeling Bag" and let her hold it once or twice but definitely not three times!  After she went home Dalton jumped in the tub...he was YUCKY dirty from all of the sand, potting soil, sun screen, ice cream sandwiches...the list goes on and on!  Then a little TV time (CAT machines DVD), a little brush your teeth time, a little read some stories time, a little snuggle and then night night time!  And I am so thankful that we are both back in our own beds tonight!  Amen!